Derivative, Yes, But Served Up By First-Rate Cast...

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2006)

No one will ever accuse director Michael Bay of making cutting-edge films, but he certainly knows how to put on a show, and when you add a cast of first-rate actors, the end result can be great fun. "The Island", a 'concept' film that borrows liberally from "THX 1138", "Westworld", "The 6th Day", "Coma", "Capricorn One", and especially "Logan's Run", is basically lightweight fluff, the kind of entertainment where you bring out the popcorn and leave logic at the door. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; his 1998 SF epic, "Armageddon", is one of the most entertaining 'dumb' movies of the past decade. With this film, however, Bay has set the bar to a whole new level!
The concept, nearly a reworking of "Logan's Run", is intriguing, if shaky. A vast underground laboratory of clones created to supply replacement parts for rich clients is run by smoothly evil Dr. Merrick (Sean Bean, who seems to have a corner on villainous roles, these days). Juiced up with steroid mixtures to bring them to adulthood quickly (a system that is, besides being impossible, downright risky for anybody planning to USE the parts!), false memories are implanted, and the clones, at the mental level of teens, live happy, if limited lives, believing themselves survivors of an ecological disaster, and dreaming of winning the lottery (in "Logan's Run", it was 'Carousel') that will whisk them off to the only untouched haven on earth, 'The Island'. In truth, winning the lottery means you are about to be harvested for parts, but this is, of course, kept from them.
But Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor), has nagging questions, fueled by sympathetic staffer McCord (the always entertaining Steve Buscemi), and when his best friend, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson, looking far too beautiful for a program where sexual desire is 'eliminated') 'wins' the lottery, he discovers what her fate is REALLY to be...and the pair escape into the 'real' world, pursued by an army of hit men commanded by Djimon Hounsou.
The chase is when the story really takes off, and it is as spectacular a series of stunts as has ever been staged for an action film. You may ask yourself how Lincoln is so proficient in driving skills (he can know these, instinctively, yet he DOESN'T comprehend SEX???), but if you don't allow logic to interfere with entertainment, you'll be in for a helluva ride! While the finale is another 'lift' (of the final scene of "Logan's Run"), the characters are so likable, and the resolution is so satisfying that only the most cynical of viewers will be disappointed.
Michael Bay has done it, again!